Domestic Hot Water

Weather Data

Getting Started with RED Calc Free

Finding tools and user guides

Navigate to tools and user guides using either the RED Calc Free tab
in the banner menu at the top of any page or the
RED Calc Free navigation menu along the left side of most pages. In the
navigation menu, clicking on the
icon next to a tool will take you to its user guide. The
Tool Descriptions
page contains brief descriptions of all the tools.

Supported browsers

The advanced features of RED Calc FreeTM will run on the
latest versions of these web browsers:

Using the buttons at the top of RED Calc Free Tools

The button is used to reset the input values of the current tool to the "factory" values.

The button is used to print a copy of the tool without page banners, menus, or ads.

The
button brings up the user guide for the current tool in a separate
window.

Using popup help

Click on the label for any input or result to
activate a popup help box. To close the help box, click on the
"X" in the upper right corner of the box. The popup help for
inputs also include the allowed range and
normal range for the input.
Read more.

Using
Preferences
allows you to set global preferences that affect ALL the tools.

Unit system: You may select I-P (inch-pound) or S-I (metric) units as the default setting for the RED Calc Free tools. Note that each tool also gives the option of selecting various I-P or S-I units for individual inputs and results.

Uncertainty feature: Turning this feature on helps you investigate how the precision of your measurements affects the accuracy of the calculated results.

More tips for using RED Calc Free Tools

A display-units dropdown such as
[] allows you to specify the units for an input or calculated result.

Math on-the-fly gives you the ability to enter mathematical expressions in an input box, such as

Living area
[]

When you tab or click away from the input, your expression is replaced with the result, 1728 for this example.
This feature provides a powerful calculator in each tool input box. (See the RED Calc Math-on-the-fly and
Uncertainty Features
White Paper for an in depth discussion
for power users.)

A warning symbol to the right of an input, such as

Living area
[]

indicates that the entered value is outside the normal range for the input. Clicking on this symbol when it appears in a RED Calc tool will pop up a help box.

An error symbol to the right of an input, such as

Living area
[]:

indicates that the entered value is outside the allowed range for the input. The calculation will halt until you enter a valid number. Clicking on this symbol when it appears in a tool will pop up a help box.

A syntax error symbol to the right of an input, such as

Living area
[]

indicates that the calculation engine couldn't make sense of what you entered. Clicking on this symbol when it appears in a RED Calc Free tool will pop up a help box.

Calculated results, such as

Living area [] = 2200

are indicated by an equal sign, a blue font, and the lack of an input box.